Volume 32 - Article 30 | Pages 835–858 Editor's Choice

What is your couple type? Gender ideology, housework sharing, and babies

By Arnstein Aassve, Giulia Fuochi, Letizia Mencarini, Daria Mendola

Print this page  Facebook  Twitter

 

 
Date received:10 Aug 2014
Date published:30 Apr 2015
Word count:8144
Keywords:fertility, gender couple typology, gender equality, gender equity, GGS
DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.30
 

Abstract

Background: It is increasingly acknowledged that not only gender equality but also gender ideology plays a role in explaining fertility in advanced societies. In a micro perspective, the potential mismatch between gender equality (i.e., the actual sharing taking place in a couple) and gender ideology (i.e., attitudes and beliefs regarding gender roles) may drive childbearing decisions.

Objective: This paper assesses the impact of consistency between gender equality in attitudes and equality in the division of household labour on the likelihood of having another child, for different parities.

Methods: Relying on two-wave panel data of the Bulgarian, Czech, French, Hungarian, and Lithuanian Generations and Gender Surveys, we build a couple typology defined by gender attitudes and housework-sharing. The typology identifies four types of couple: 1) gender-unequal attitudes and gender-unequal housework-sharing; 2) gender-equal attitudes and gender-unequal housework-sharing; 3) gender-unequal attitudes and gender-equal housework-sharing; 4) gender-equal attitudes and gender-equal housework-sharing. The couple types enter into a logistic regression model on childbirth.

Results: The impact of the typology varies with parity and gender: taking as reference category the case of gender-equal attitudes and gender-equal division of housework, the effect of all the other couple types on a new childbirth is strong and negative for the second child and female respondents.

Conclusions: The consistency between gender ideology and actual partners’ housework-sharing is only favourable for childbearing as long as there is gender equality in both the dimensions.

Author's Affiliation

Arnstein Aassve - Università Bocconi, Italy [Email]
Giulia Fuochi - Collegio Carlo Alberto, Italy [Email]
Letizia Mencarini - Università Bocconi, Italy [Email]
Daria Mendola - Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy [Email]

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

» Happy parents’ tweets: An exploration of Italian Twitter data using sentiment analysis
Volume 40 - Article 25

» Persistent joblessness and fertility intentions
Volume 40 - Article 8

» Parents’ subjective well-being after their first child and declining fertility expectations
Volume 39 - Article 9

» Youth prospects in a time of economic recession
Volume 29 - Article 36

» Grandparenting and mothers’ labour force participation: A comparative analysis using the Generations and Gender Survey
Volume 27 - Article 3

» Women´s wages and childbearing decisions: Evidence from Italy
Volume 22 - Article 19

» Does fertility decrease household consumption?: An analysis of poverty dynamics and fertility in Indonesia
Volume 20 - Article 26

» Albania: Trends and patterns, proximate determinants and policies of fertility change
Volume 19 - Article 11

» Gender equity and fertility intentions in Italy and the Netherlands
Volume 18 - Article 1

» Similarities and differences between two cohorts of young adults in Italy: Results of a CATI survey on transition to adulthood
Volume 15 - Article 5

» Youth poverty and transition to adulthood in Europe
Volume 15 - Article 2

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

» Introduction to the Special Collection on The new roles of women and men and implications for families and societies
Volume 48 - Article 29    | Keywords: fertility, gender equality

» Parental leave policies and continued childbearing in Iceland, Norway, and Sweden
Volume 40 - Article 51    | Keywords: fertility, gender equality

» Weak support for a U-shaped pattern between societal gender equality and fertility when comparing societies across time
Volume 40 - Article 2    | Keywords: fertility, gender equality

» Family policies, childbearing, and economic crisis: The case of Iceland
Volume 39 - Article 19    | Keywords: fertility, gender equality

» Domestic division of labour and fertility preference in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
Volume 36 - Article 18    | Keywords: fertility, gender equality